Dez Bryant's last-minute catch was ruled out of bounds, and the Dallas Cowboys lost 29-24 to the New York Giants on Sunday. / Matthew Emmons, US Presswire

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas â?? The difference between the Dallas Cowboys' being a half-game behind the New York Giants instead of trailing them by three games in the win column is the length of Dez Bryant's fingertips.

That's the easy, touchy-feely storyline after the Giants won a seesaw of a game 29-24 courtesy of the end of Bryant's gloves hitting just a few centimeters on the white paint behind the end zone instead of making a safe landing in the Cowboys blue in bounds.

"They took it away," Bryant said of the official review that overturned the call of a touchdown on the field with 6 seconds to play, "and my heart just dropped."

The more critical approach was the one Bryant was surely pondering at his locker after fielding a few minutes of questions from the media. He grabbed the bar on which his clothes were hanging, did three forward leans into the stall and then squatted as he tried to loosen the hip on which he landed. It was a pain he didn't have to feel, a miraculous near-catch he didn't have to try making and a comeback the Cowboys wouldn't have needed.

Not if they hadn't dug themselves an early 23-0 hole with four turnovers in the first 16 minutes, 55 seconds of the game, including a muffed punt by Bryant and a poorly run route on an interception â?? mistakes that set up two field goals for the Giants.

"The big plays don't win the games as much as the mistakes lose the ballgames," team owner Jerry Jones said when asked specifically about Bryant's poor decisions. "That's the way throughout the positions on the team. Certainly, that's the case there. We made the kinds of mistakes that lose ballgames.

"Frankly, with that many turnovers, with that kind of interception, it shouldn't surprise us we didn't win this game."

Those mistakes and a few others, including Felix Jones' fumble while running into his own center in the fourth quarter, were the difference.

The difference between Jerry Jones fielding questions about the direction of this team and his making good on a vow to his season-ticket holders his squad would finally "beat the Giants asses" for the first time in his still-gleaming new stadium.

The difference between the owner, coach and quarterback being cheered by the home crowd or booed, even as Jones was delivering a message during a breast-cancer PSA on the big screen.

"I would've booed us, too. We deserved it at the time," said Tony Romo, whose four interceptions were a concern despite the fact only one could've been pinned on him. "We did not start the game the way we wanted to."

Jones quipped he's "been to boo school, so to speak," and felt the same way the fans did at the time. He knows what the message being sent his way was.

"The same one I got 24 years ago and the same one I got at times 23, 22, 21 and 20 years ago," he said. "There's never been a honeymoon for me in Dallas."

Bryant's is over, if he ever even had one to begin with.

The mental mistakes he made in his first two seasons, combined with the route that he should've broken off that instead led to a pick six against the Chicago Bears, the dropped two-point conversion in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and now his two big gaffes on Sunday, are enough to suggest he shouldn't be making appearances on the big screen here anytime soon.

Because he'll get the same response Jones, Romo and Jason Garrett received, especially since Jones aimed right at him while making that comment about the first-half mistakes.

"He's absolutely right," Bryant said. "We just gotta eliminate the mistakes. Those are the things that kill you."

Garrett tried to get Bryant's head right by taking him off punt returns after the muffed return.

"I thought it was a bad play," Garrett said. "It was a big swing for them."

Garrett, remarkably, was even asked if he thought about benching Romo, despite the fact this was the same guy being praised for his escape acts in a Week 1 victory over the Giants. Plus, Bryant admitted he was "off-balance" as he tried to flatten out his route on the first interception.

What Bryant must soon realize, what he perhaps was considering as he leaned into his locker, is his mistakes are reflecting on others. They're resulting in Romo's job security being questioned, in Jones' being booed and in Garrett's being on the hot seat soon if this all continues.

Sure, Bryant could've saved them all from such scrutiny if he'd made that leaping catch between Corey Webster and Michael Coe at the end.

"I had the mindset of, if the ball was thrown to me, I don't care," Bryant said, "I was going to come down with it."

The determination is admirable. It just needs to be there sooner and more consistently.